Town prepares for its annual budget talks
Mayor's Report
By Marolyn Morrison

As everyone prepares for holiday festivities, the Town staff and members of council are preparing the 2008 budget.

This process actually began this past August, when the Town's senior management team received the budget parameters. Since this time, staff have been diligently collecting and analyzing data to determine the budget that their departments will require for next year.

The 2008 budget will determine what capital projects will be done and what our operating costs will be. Shortly after being elected, members of council, with the help of staff, developed and adopted the 2nd Caledon Community Work Plan (CCWP). This plan outlines actionable items and that are championed by individual council members. As a result, these initiatives also assist with the preparation and planning of annual operating and capital budgets.

The Town has positioned itself to be debt-free. This is a significant achievement for our municipality. With a growth rate that is sustainable, residents will not feel the burden that resident to the south of us will be encountering in 2008. As many of you have heard, the City of Mississauga and the City of Brampton are currently reviewing their 2008 budgets and there are issues and concerns that will ultimately lead to increased taxes.

Over the past decade these municipalities have experienced an influx of growth at a rapid rate. It has become difficult to keep up with aging infrastructure and the demand for new infrastructure. Development charges do not pay 100% of infrastructure costs; only the growth related part and our taxes pay the remainder.

Caledon is a diverse community with a rural and urban landscape. The needs of the community vary across the 700 square kilometres of rolling hills. As council, we strive to balance the needs and wants to make our municipality the best to live, work and raise a family. We must do this while maintaining as low of a tax rate as possible. Caledon has been successful in doing so and in 2007 we had the third lowest tax rate in the GTA (Toronto had the lowest, and Milton with the second lowest with more than $7 million in revenues from their Casino).

I know that council is committed to being fiscally responsible and ensuring a good quality of life for our residents as seen in the recent Ipsos Reid 2007 Community Satisfaction Survey.

Please join us during the budget process or at any other council meeting. Council looks forward to seeing you as we discuss the many issues facing Caledon.